Moving to Northern New Jersey (Jersey City, West New York: home, place to live, costs)

[anoor19]

My boyfriend and I need to re-locate to Northern New Jersey for his job.
We're 24 and are looking for a place that is safe but has that downtown city feel to it with stuff to do.

Originally I thougth Hoboken but the prices seem to be really high and I dont think we can afford that. I grew up in Central Jersey and always thought that Jersey City was a bad place to live but I've heard some good things about it recently. Eventually I plan to work in the City so being close to the PATH is important as well.

Any advice on lower costs but still safe, clean and livley? Does anyone know anything about West New York, NJ?

Thanks so Much!

[majesty318]

What is your budget? Until I moved in June, I was paying $1180 for a small, nice, new 1 BR in downtown Jersey City. However, that is very cheap for downtown. I'd say $1400-$1500 is more realistic for the nicer parts of JC. If that is doable for you, I highly recommend these areas of Jersey City: Newport, Paulus Hook, Harsimus Cove, Hamilton Park, Van Vorst Park, Exchange Place. I was in the Harsimus Cove area, which is sort of a mix between the gentrified & traditional JC. My block had families that had lived there for years and also some yuppies. I really loved being able to walk places and being so close to Hoboken & NYC, but you always have to keep in mind that it *is* a city, and you should use common sense (i.e. don't wave your Coach bag & Ipod around while walking home from the PATH drunk at 4AM).

[NJ Chutzpah]

where in North NewJersey is he working, it makes a huge difference

[AndrewMensch]

Two questions:

Where are you working?
What is your budget?

I would try Morristown. Send me a PM if you want more info.

Also, check out Get Your Walk Score - A Walkability Score For Any Address You can input any address and it will give you a "walk score" between 1 - 100 of how walkable an address is.

For example, 5th Ave in NYC is a 100, while suburban home on Long Island or N NJ could be 1-20